Ethics 1

Ethics 1

Passed 6/16/15

Reviewed by Rev. Barbara Wright

Laura Fuller (Snow)

1. Find and provide an appropriate definition, discuss your understanding, and provide illustrative examples for each of the following seven terms: morals, values, personal bias, professional boundaries, confidentiality, right and wrong (100 words each minimum, not including definitions)

Morals:  adjective: of, relating to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong; ethical: moral attitudes (Morris 852).

               Morals are the internalized beliefs about right and wrong based on social norms.  In my opinion, the idea that morals are based on social norms is often over looked, both in definition and discourse.  Like other aspects of culture, morals are taught by the various social institutions we as human beings are immersed in.  We as human beings use morals to make judgements about day to day living situations.  Usually when we articulate something as a moral judgement, it is because different people have different beliefs about what is the proper action for the circumstance.  An example of this is gay marriage.  There are some who believe in marriage as the marriage of one man and one woman.  Others believe that marriage is a contract between two (or more) people to form a family unit regardless of the sex/gender of those forming the contract.  There are arguments on both sides, for and against, many of which get heated because moral decisions are rarely based on fact and usually based on emotion and belief as taught by ones family, friends, educational system, religion, etc.

Values:  noun: something (as a principle or quality) intrinsically valuable or desirable (Morris 1414).

               Values are similar to morals in that an individual’s values are taught to them by their social upbringing.  Like other aspects of culture, values are usually passed within social institutions such as family.  Values are the things we consider important in how we live our lives or what we want for the betterment of our community.  We might, for example, value our physical world and preserving it for future generations.  If we value a thing, then when we’re making decisions, we consider the impact of those choices on that thing.  So if we value the earth, then when we’re deciding what purchases to make, we might base our decision off of the impact that product (and the making of it) had on the environment, or we might plant a garden, or recycle.  If we say we value community, then the choices we make should align with that value: doing what we can to support the community.    When we talk about value judgements, then we are talking about something subjective that we choose based on our values.

Personal Bias: noun: a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly (Morris 128).

               Bias is when we make our judgements based on our personal beliefs without regard for the facts/logic/circumstances of a given situation.  This can happen because of a conflict of interest, such as when you have a stake in having something come out a certain way, or because of a social position as well.  It is important to note that personal bias cannot be entirely removed from any decision we make, because all of our decisions are going to have an element of judgement of what is best for us or our community or loved ones and what we think is best comes out of our beliefs and biases.  That said, it’s important to recognize what those biases are so that when we make decisions, we don’t let personal bias overcome logic or what is truly right in a situation.  While we usually talk about this in relationship to research, it’s equally true of any leadership position.  We may have the best of intentions, but decisions can still be biased.  For example, in my work, I wanted to institute a new program for youth living in the city.  It was my personal belief that they would benefit from the program because I believed they should have access to the chances it would provide.  However, my opinion was biased in that I was not looking at the whole picture of what was available in the community and instead comparing it to my ideal, not theirs.   

Professional Boundaries: noun: boundaries: unofficial rules about what should not be done: limits that define acceptable behavior (Morris 156).

               Professional boundaries and the boundaries that separate us the various parts of our lives, keeping our personal, private life apart from our work life.  They are the lines we do not cross when we are acting as a professional.

As a clergy, that work life also includes the ways you minister.  Professional boundaries can be a nebulous concept about what is or is not appropriate behavior in any given situation, or it can be very specific rules either personally defined or defined through an organization.  An example of this is how, in my professional life, I work with youth in a government sponsored program.  Therefore, I have two Facebook accounts.  One of them is the ‘real me’ that I use to express myself and connect with friends and family, and the other is the ‘public face’ I use to manage our organizational page and connect with colleagues.  I do this for a number of reasons.  Living in a small, rural community, there is very little privacy.  Keeping a solid boundary in place protects me from the repercussions of being pagan, but it also serves to protect the integrity of my program.  Our program is federally funded, and so I cannot be seen in a religious or political context at work.  While I am ‘out’ in the office, I am not ‘out’ to the ninety or so volunteers or the four hundred or so children I work with.

               In working with children, professional boundaries are even more important than in other aspects of my life.  Some of these are covered in the youth protection and mandatory reporting guidelines we follow, but many are not.  The professional guides are mostly designed as training for protecting yourself and for knowing ways to avoid being placed in compromising situations.  What I hold as my personal boundaries, though, are to protect myself and the children as well.  For example, I do not share my cell phone number with the children or attend their various parties.  Partly this is for my own reputation, but it is also because once you go to one, it is hard to not go to all of the various functions you are invited to in my role and you don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings or have it appear that you have favorites.  This may seem like a small thing, but these sorts of boundaries are additive and when taken together protect both your reputation and the emotional wellbeing of those who depend on you.

Confidentiality: 1) secret or private; 2) showing that you are saying something that is secret or private; 3) trusted with secret or private information (Morris 279).

               Confidentiality is the idea that what is told to us goes no further.  It is the opposite of gossip.  It is the keeping of secrets and the holding of trust.  Of knowing things and not revealing them.  It is a major part of trustworthiness.  When I worked at the rape crisis center, and again as an ombudsman for the US Navy, I signed confidentiality agreements that required me not to disclose anything I learned.  While not tempted to break my word and gossip about it, there were times when it was difficult not to even act on what I had seen.  In a religious context, or maybe as an ex-catholic, when I think of this in relationship to religion, it tends to be in terms of the confessional and the knowledge that a priest would die before revealing what was told to them.  In Wisconsin, the seal of the confessional is extended to all clergy (Wisconsin, Statute 905.06), although clergy are at the same time mandated reporters for child abuse (Wisconsin, Statute 48 48.981).  Wisconsin law does not mandate reporting abuse directed at anyone but children and unborn children.  While ADF does not have confession the way the Catholic Church does, in order to not discriminate between religious leaders, any information told to you by a member of your church in your role as a priest and asked to be held in confidence is treated the same way from a legal standpoint (Wisconsin, Statute 905.06).  Much like my profession where I work with children, there is a balance that is sometimes difficult between doing the right thing and filing a report, and doing the right thing and keeping someone’s secrets.  In these cases, there are strict guidelines from these two statutes: clergy cannot be forced to share information given them in their role as clergy with the single exception of those times when they are required by law to report known or suspected child abuse.

Right:  1) morally or socially correct or acceptable; 2) speaking, acting, or judging in a way that agrees with the facts or truth (Morris 1118).

               Saying something is right, usually means that we are judging it as aligning with facts or truths that we believe.  This can be a subjective term, since what is obviously socially right to one person might be the opposite to the beliefs of another.  What forms our view of right (and wrong) is very much the social structures we grew up in.  This is further complicated by the way in which two opposites can be right for different people, or sometimes even the same person.  Both sides in a disagreement can make strong points and both be right within their own context.  An example of this is the discussion which happens around gun ownership in the US.  Both sides have valid, logical arguments. Gun ownership is protected under the constitution and yet, the US has a staggeringly high level of gun violence compared to other developed countries.  Both sides want to see the curbing of this disturbing trend in violence, but they offer very different solutions, which seem right to them.  

Wrong: 1) behavior that is not morally good or correct; 2) a harmful, unfair, or illegal act (Morris 1478).

               The opposite of right is wrong.  Things that are wrong are things that go against a moral code either personally held or socially agreed upon.  While the above definition includes illegal acts as wrong, I’m not sanguine about putting my complete agreement behind legal definitions.  While justice is supposed to be blind, I often think her blindfold might be made of gauze.  Further, there are many frankly ridiculous laws in this country (Detroit has a law about not tying your pet alligator to a fire hydrant) or laws that were enacted for purely political reasons, such as the criminalization of marijuana which was racially motivated in the 1920s (Trujillo 30-32).  When I think about wrong, I consider actions or words that cause real harm to an individual or the community.  Therefore, when I am defining if something is wrong, my consideration is based on whether the action goes against what I consider a virtue I wish to emulate or wish to see in the person/place/thing that is acting.  For example, in my opinion not helping someone in need is wrong, because it breaks the basic principles of hospitality so central to my belief structure.  At the same time, ancient heathens had a very strong sense of who was a member of their tribe versus who was an outsider.  While I prefer to think of all of humankind as a member of my tribe, I also recognize that I cannot fix everything for everyone.  Therefore, if I see a situation I can directly impact without causing harm to myself or my family, I consider it a part of my responsibility to act.

2. Self-awareness is key to the implementation of professional ethics. Discuss how your personal morals, values, bias and ability to maintain adequate boundaries, confidentiality and determine right from wrong might both positively and negatively impact your professional relationships. (200 words minimum)

Self-awareness is key to any set of professional ethics, including the one I use as a Youth Worker.  Many of the ethics I have developed there carry over to the set of ethics I am embracing as a clergy student.

My moral views are based in the family-focused, liberal upbringing in which I was raised.  My family and childhood were quite ecumenically diverse. As I grew up on a university campus in graduate student housing, I had friends from around the world who embraced a great many of the world religions that many American youth only occasionally hear about.  My family was not religious and I was raised to believe that religion could be a help or a harm, depending on how one embraced it.  Instead of valuing religion for its own sake, we instead were taught a morality that focused on embracing our fellow humans, recognizing that we all had a part to play in this great world, and that to make the world a better place, we should do what we could to improve the lives of those around us.  This includes an open-mindedness about what makes them different, and embracing those differences to give us the rich tapestry of our social experience.  It also led to valuing education, hard work, and the shared bonds of family and humanity.  This is not to say that I’m without bias.  I don’t believe a human can be without bias.  It’s part of how we are programmed, how we survived.  Human nature is to categorize into the known and the unknown (and potentially dangerous).  One of the things I struggle with the most is my bias against people who embrace ignorance, who put such emphasis on belief that they are blind to reality.  In fact, growing up I heard more than once in my family that religion makes you stupid, and it’s certainly influenced my interactions with those who claim some deity’s will as the basis for their actions.  In some ways this seems hypocritical for someone in a clergy training program, and I acknowledge that, however another bias I have is that the religious path I’ve chosen doesn’t demand blind faith and obedience.

The point of this introspection is, I think, to look at how we will take these beliefs and work with the others in our faith community knowing that some of them will have different values, beliefs, and biases.  My answer to this is that I already do this very thing, though not with a faith community.  Rather, in my professional life as a youth worker, I have to hold myself to the highest standards worthy of emulation.  I have to set aside my beliefs, political and religious both, so that I can teach the children and the volunteers I work with factual, research based information and leadership development.  Further, my office is like Vegas.  What is said or happens in it, stays in it.  Youth especially have to know that they have someone they can talk to about anything who won’t tell their parents or their friends.  As a youth worker, I am already a mandatory reporter, and I take my responsibilities both of confidentiality and of reporting abuse if I see it, very seriously.  I have had to call Children’s Services before, and it did make my life difficult.  It isn’t something I enjoyed or would ever want to do again.  However, I remind myself that it’s not about me or my comfort, it’s about what is right for the community or in this case child that I’m serving.  The short term negative impacts and uproar from these situations is a small price to pay for doing the right thing.

3. Discuss how an individual learns to determine right from wrong and explain the factors that influence this determination? (100 words minimum)

               People learn right from wrong by the social institutions they grow up in.  The first socialization occurs within the family.  I think that socialization starts even before a child is born when its parents start picking out names and painting the nursery.  When children misbehave, their parents (should) correct the behavior, teaching them what is acceptable and what isn’t and alternatively rewarding them when they do things that are socially appropriate.  This holds true for actions based in beliefs, morals, and values as well.  As children grow older, they begin to be socialized in other settings such as schools and religious institutions.  They make friends and begin to experience peer socialization.  Their beliefs may change as they are exposed to other people and experiences, and as they get older their understanding of right and wrong matures (O'Neil).  I see this fairly frequently when I teach Sociology. One of the assignments I give my students is to write a paper where they have to argue both sides of a controversial current topic.  They have to find at least three sources for each side of the argument.  I’ve had topics ranging from abortion to gun control to euthanasia to gay marriage rights to female circumcision in Africa.  One of the concepts I want them to learn is about cultural relativism.  They are to write their paper (which they then present to the class) in such a way that we (myself and their classmates) cannot tell which side they personally advocate for and then relate their issue to one of the major social institutions (ex: family, religion, government, education, etc.) and how that impacts the way the arguments are framed.  I am consistently and pleasantly surprised at how many of them share with me in an email or in their course reviews that this was the first time they’d ever really thought about the way they were raised around that topic and how many of them share that while their own viewpoint hasn’t changed, they have a much better understanding of where the other side is coming from.  The assignment grew out of a paper I wrote for a class as an undergraduate myself, where I had to argue whether it was possible to be catholic and pro-choice and how I had come to reconcile my personal disagreement with the Catholic church in that regard. 

4. Describe several reasons why an individual would strive to "do the right thing"? (100 words minimum)

               People choose to do the right thing because there is some benefit to either themselves, their community, or the world in doing so.  Indeed, Socrates believed that virtue was essential to the health of our souls and vice did irreparable harm (White 19-20).  We are taught that ‘doing the right thing’ makes you a good person, and people like to feel that they are good people (at least most of us do).  Normally when we talk about ‘doing the right thing’ whatever that thing is doesn’t have an obvious benefit to the person doing it.  For example, giving something away to someone who needs it, donating time or money to a cause, or giving something up that you might want or need doesn’t have an obvious benefit to the giver.  Still, benefits to themselves can include improving their karma/wyrd, or just making them feel good about themselves. Sometimes there is social pressure to ‘do the right thing’ where a social norm dictates what you should do in a given situation. 

Social pressures are those ideas that others impose on you to try and make you conform to a certain way of being and ‘look good’.  They can be broken into other categories, such as socio-economic pressure which has to do with trying to appear to be from a wealthy income bracket regardless of what you can actually afford (Margaret).  Social norms are the ‘unwritten rules about how to behave’ (McLeod).  These rules are specific to a group, although that group can be any size or level.  A person’s behavior changes depending on which group they are associating with at the time, so a teenager will act one way at school to conform to the rules there, and another way at home to conform to the rules there. 

5. Discuss how an individual's values relate to the decision making process. (100 words minimum)

               Values are the things we care about, so when we’re making decisions, we put weight on decisions that align with our values.  Our values act as a moral compass in guiding our decision making process.  When we have a strong set of values, then we can evaluate our decisions from the standpoint of what aligns with those values.  For example, as someone who values education, I always vote for school levies, even though I don’t have kids.  As someone who is pro-union, I don’t cross picket lines.  Sometimes letting values guide the decision making process, it actually simplifies it because the question becomes what is best based on values instead of getting stuck in the minute details.  For example, I don’t have to determine what the tax increase of the levy would be to me, because I don’t care.  It’s more important to support the schools (What Are Your Values?).

6. Discuss the importance of ethics to the clergy-lay relationship. Do you believe a clergy person has ethical responsibilities? If so, what are these responsibilities? (300 words minimum)

               Clergy most definitely have ethical responsibilities that go beyond legal responsibilities.  Any time a person is in a relationship of any sort with other people, they have ethical responsibilities, but this is even more apparent when the relationship is unequal in some way.  As priests often take on the role of teacher or guide, they by definition are leaders in the community that people look up to.  This means that they have a responsibility to set an example of behavior.  They are also the public face of the community, and as such they represent us all.  This, too, places them under an obligation for ethical behavior.

               In the article Personal and Professional Ethics for ADF Leaders, Rev. Jessie Olson lists five areas for ethical consideration as: 1) avoiding discrimination, 2) commit to your personal care and growth, 3) manage your personal life and seek assistance as needed, 4) only provide counseling for areas in which you are competent, and 5) establish and maintain appropriate boundaries (Olsen 5-6).

               Over all I agree with Rev. Olson’s list, however I would make a few small changes.  My list would go as follows:

1.      No discrimination.  This includes both overt discrimination and covert discrimination.  While it’s easy enough to police yourself around overt discrimination, detecting covert discrimination can be more of a challenge.  This can manifest in such things as making sure the site for your activities is ADA compliant, or that the reading level of your newsletter makes it accessible for all of the members of the group and all POTENTIAL members of the group.

2.      Take care of yourself.  This includes taking care of your needs for time, energy, and personal growth.  Get the help you need.  Keep a personal balance in your life.

3.      Don’t be afraid to refer others to help you can’t provide.  You don’t know everything and can’t support everyone.

4.      Maintain appropriate boundaries.  This includes how you structure your relationships with your community and also how you move between being a member or leader.

5.      Remember your purpose and communicate it clearly.  Always act aligned with your purpose, knowing that you are the face of your organization and a role model.  Make sure your behavior is worthy of being emulated.

7. Discuss the meaning of confidential privilege, the laws in your state that provide for this privilege and the extent to which it applies to clergy-lay communications in your community. (200 words minimum)

               Confidential privilege is the idea that when something is shared with you because of your station/role, it will not be shared with anyone for any reason except where required by law. 

               Wisconsin Statute 905.06 (Wisconsin, Statute 905.06) discusses communications with the clergy and has two parts.  First, it defines who the state considers clergy, and then it defines what communication with said clergy falls under confidentiality law.  First, it gives a list of titles for clergy (minister, priest, rabbi, or other similar functionary of a religious organization).  Interestingly, it also classifies ‘an individual reasonably believed so to be by the person consulting the individual’ which I take to mean that if someone THINKS you are clergy and treats you as such, then legally you become clergy in the eyes of the state.  This has the potential to be problematic, as it opens up what it means to be ordained legally.  I feel that this is here, however, to protect people who think they are talking to clergy, meaning that if someone passes themselves off as clergy, consequences fall on the clergy, not the public who took your claim at face value.  This law also determines when communication with clergy is confidential, which is anytime it is privately done, with the exception of if it falls under the clauses for mandatory reporting of child abuse.

               Wisconsin Statute 48.981 (Wisconsin, Statute 48) discusses who are considered mandatory reporters of child abuse.  In Wisconsin, other forms of abuse (such as elderly abuse) do not fall under mandatory reporting at this time.  It lists members of the clergy as well as members of religious orders.  It includes how documentation regarding this abuse is not confidential and can be subpoenaed. Further, it defines when someone has to report, including when one suspects abuse or neglect is occurring, or will occur in the situation.  It is worth noting that Wisconsin also has a category for abused unborn children.  It is unclear in the law, however, what constitutes abuse to an unborn child, making it seem like a way to prosecute pregnant women for additional charges if they do something dangerous while pregnant (2013−14 Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations and Court Orders).

8. One of the main principles of ethics is to "do no harm". Discuss the meaning of this principle as it applies to the clergy-lay relationship. (100 words minimum)

               In terms of the clergy-lay relationship, ‘do no harm’ is the imperative to think through what the consequences will be to your actions.   In Ethics in ADF, Newburg makes an interesting point about how poorly harm is usually defined.  He uses as an example the Wiccan Rede that says ‘harm none, do what you will.’  However he claims that this basic tenant doesn’t define what is meant by harm and what constitutes harm (Newberg 1).  Does it include self-harm?  And what if we are making a sacrifice?  At what point does it become harmful to give of what we have? 

               As a member of the clergy, this becomes even more important as the clergy have a position of influence.  The clergy is no longer responsible only for themselves, but also for the well-being of the community as a whole.  Decisions, actions, discussions, all things have consequences.  Some might have purely positive consequences, but others might have a mixed result.  Different people will benefit in different ways from actions, and some actions might benefit some people but hurt others.  It is important to think through all of these possible consequences and weigh the costs and benefits of them when making choices. 

9. Compare and contrast the Nine Virtues described in the ADF Dedicant Path and prominent values in the dominant culture of the country in which you live. (200 words minimum)

               ADF holds the following as The Nine Virtues: Wisdom, Piety, Vision, Courage, Integrity, Perseverance, Moderation, Hospitality, and Fertility all of which are discussed in the Introduction to the Dedicant Manual (ADF).  I feel that all of these virtues are important for living a well-rounded life as a modern pagan.  While I think many of these are embraced at least as ideals in the US, some of them seem counter to the way most Americans act.  I also think that it’s important to remember just how varied culture and values are in the US, so that even speaking of the dominant culture the specific values are fluid.

               Wisdom: ADF defines wisdom as good judgement and the ability to perceive people and situations correctly, deliberate, and decide on the correct response (ADF).  I think that this is a virtue that resonates with American culture.  People do value the ability to respond correctly, especially in difficult situations, and having poise and the resources to do so is weighed heavily in how people respond to an individual.  The more prominent the individual, the more we expect them to exhibit this characteristic.

               Piety: Piety is the correct observation of ritual and social traditions (ADF).  Of the virtues, I think this is the one that is the least emphasized in American culture, although I think that the prominence placed on this virtue is also one that varies the most between different groups in the US.  Where I currently live, observing tradition and ritual is very important as I live in a conservative, rural farming town.  However, when I lived in a large urban area, people were less concerned with whether traditions were met.

               Vision: Vision is the ability to broaden one’s perspective.  In ADF we say this is in relation to our place in the cosmos (ADF), but I think in American culture this is true not just in relationship to the cosmos, but to every aspect of our lives and culture.  Being able to examine things outside your own experience and include them in your decision making process is prized by most of our culture, and is a necessary skill to function in our diverse world.

               Courage: Courage is the ability to act appropriately in the face of adversity (ADF).  I think this is one of the most valued of virtues in the US.  Our cultural mythos is one of overcoming adversity beginning with the stories we tell of the pilgrims coming to the new world and facing almost certain death.  Sadly, I think this is a virtue that Americans love to applaud in others, but are quick to try and avoid having to foster in themselves.

               Integrity: Integrity is honor; being true to one's self and to others, involving oath-keeping, honesty, fairness, respect and self-confidence (ADF).  Like courage, Integrity has a mythos around it in American culture.  We like to think that our culture was based on Integrity, when a ‘man’s word was his worth’ and hand-shake agreements held up in court.  Sadly, our court system proves that we are a nation sorely lacking in Integrity and while I (and many Americans) believe this is the foundation of morality, it is one that we as a culture applaud in others but ignore for ourselves when it gets to be too hard.

               Perseverance: Perseverance is Drive; the motivation to pursue goals even when that pursuit becomes difficult (ADF).  Like Integrity and Courage, American’s like to consider this part of our national spirit and heritage.  We look to the pioneers, to the Founding Fathers, and see in them an embodiment of the unwillingness to give up until they did what they set out to do.  We as a culture do still applaud this when someone completes a task against obstacles that seem monumentally challenging.  However we also see it as something not everyone can attain instead of something we should all be striving for.  I see this a lot when I’m teaching college courses.  People speak about their ability to return to school as overcoming ridiculous odds, and yet so many fold at the least bit of resistance or adversity.

               Moderation: Moderation is balancing ones appetites (ADF).  I see this as an important part of self-mastery.  I also do not see this as being highly valued in modern US society.  We are a nation of consumers.  Somewhere, our self-worth got tied into our ability to purchase and consume goods and our desire for instant gratification.  While I think we value it in others, it is not a virtue many pursue, and while we value it, it is also often met with derision as if people can’t understand why anyone would want to not join in the consumerism rampant in our culture.

               Hospitality: Hospitality speaks to the code of conduct placed on both guest and host and the honoring of a gift for a gift (ADF).   I think this is one of the virtues that has most fallen out of use in the US.  We tend to place the responsibilities of hospitality squarely on the host, and forget about the rules of being a good guest.  Our failing in hospitality is, in my opinion, linked to our failing in moderation.  When Americans act as guests, we tend to expect only the opportunity to consume someone else’s resources.  We eat at their table, drink their drinks, use their facilities, and many don’t make even a token gift in return.  While the reciprocity can work out if people take turns playing host, too often this doesn’t happen and where once that would have been treated with shame on the one who didn’t also provide, now it is almost unseen.

               Fertility: Fertility is creativity and industry of the mind, body, and spirit (ADF).  I think we do still value this in the US.  We like to think of ourselves as industrious and also as creative.  Entrepreneurial in spirit and design.  We do still value hard work, even if we often try and avoid it for ourselves.           

10. The Nine Virtues described in the ADF Dedicant Path are proposed as a starting point for individuals embracing a value system inspired by traditions of the past. Utilizing the ADF nine virtues, develop a Code of Ethics for your use as ADF Clergy. Describe how you derived this code from the Nine Virtues and how you would apply this Code. (No minimum word count for the Code; however the Code must contain a minimum of five principles; 300 words minimum for the description)

Code of Ethics for Laura “Snow” Fuller:

v    Confidentiality.  I will be worthy of the trust others show in me by maintaining confidentiality for all communications shared with me in my role as priest and counselor with the sole exception of those things I must, by law, report to the authorities.

v    Discrimination.  I will fight discrimination, both within myself and my community.  I will avoid acting in a discriminatory manner against anyone both inside and outside of ADF.  When I witness acts of discrimination, I will work to rectify it to the best of my ability and will bring other resources to bear should my own not be sufficient.

v    Responsibility.  I will accept responsibility for my actions and, should my actions bring harm, I will work to not only correct the action for the future but right the wrong done.  Further, I shall be responsible to the Kindreds and ADF as I work on their behalf as a Druid and Priest.

v    Self-Reliance.  I will rely on myself and stand on my own two feet, allowing myself to remain free on conflicts of interest.

v    Sustainability.  I will embrace sustainable living practices that honor the Earth, the Kindreds, and my communities. 

v    Continuing Education.  I will seek to continue to grow in knowledge and continue to learn and stay up to date with my understandings of the world, the cosmos, ADF, the Kindreds, and my community.  I will share what knowledge I gain, as we often learn more about ourselves and our topics when we teach and engage in discussion.

This code of ethics reflects the Nine Virtues of ADF in the following ways:

Wisdom:  Continuing Education and seeking to continually grow in knowledge shows wisdom in understanding that there is never an end to learning.   Further, in sharing what I learn, I grow in wisdom myself and aid others in their own pursuit of knowledge.

Piety: In being responsible to the Kindreds and to ADF, I embrace piety through providing and participating in public ritual.  Further, part of teaching and sharing knowledge with others is the understanding of traditions and right practices.

Vision: In adopting a code on nondiscrimination, I utilize vision.  In order to foresee needs to the community, such as handicap accessible sites for rituals or non-alcoholic choices at rituals for those who abstain from alcohol, I need to embrace and practice the virtue of Vision. 

Courage: There are many times when as pagan and priest, you face adversity.  Courage is needed to stand up for the ethical dilemmas you face and ‘do the right thing’ anyway.  ADF requires priests to use their real names.  While I am ‘out’ as a pagan at work among my co-workers, my career requires I work with volunteers and children, many of whom would be horrified at my religious beliefs, yet when asked, I am honest about them.  Courage also means doing the right thing when facing discrimination in my community and facing down those who would discriminate against others both in my role as priest and in being a human being. 

Integrity: Integrity is implicit in Confidentiality.  If I cannot be held to my word, if my honor is meaningless, then no one would trust me with their problems and concerns, especially of a confidential nature.  Integrity is also an important part of self-reliance, since avoiding a conflict of interest is also a part of honor and honesty.

Perseverance: Perseverance is seen throughout this code of ethics, but can be especially seen as part of living a sustainable lifestyle and building sustainable communities.  Not giving up in the face of disagreement and frustration is an important part of sustainability.  Perseverance is also important in continuing my education and never saying I’ve done or learned enough but instead continuing to push myself to learn and grow.

Moderation: Moderation is implicit in living a sustainable lifestyle and building a sustainable community.  Moderation requires forgoing some of the more instant gratification and pleasures for the long course.

Hospitality: Hospitality is seen both through building relationships with the Kindreds under Responsibility and in the relationships of teacher and student as I continue my education.  Hospitality is the core of much of our ethic and thew as we consider the relationship of giving and receiving, and as such it underscores much of this code of ethics.  It is also part of confidentiality, as that is a giving of Honor and sometimes of place and support through a person’s troubles.

Fertility: Creativity and Industriousness are implicit as part of continuing my education and in living a sustainable lifestyle.  Hard work pays off in the end for both aspects of my code of ethics.  Fertility is part of what keeps lit the desire for knowledge and self-improvement.  It also brings joy to the Responsibility of building deeper relationships with the Kindreds.

Works Cited

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